Band Aid Lyme's passion is to fundraise for Lyme Disease-related United Stated-based non-profits. The goal is to save lives and empower patients to live their best lives.

Valerie Viale

It is an honor to bring awareness about a very controversial disease -- Lyme Disease -- to the general public through Band Aid Lyme.

Lyme Disease is the fastest growing vector-borne disease in the United States: www.bayarealyme.org. There is also research and evidence that it is sexually transmitted: www.lymedisease.org and congenitally transmitted: www.cdc.gov. These are critically important research topics that need to be effectively studied and made publicly known, as public health crises.

Additionally, Lyme Disease (from Borrelia bacteria) almost always comes with other infections, called Co-infections.  These other infections can incude viruses, other bacterias, parasites, and unidentifiable infections. 

Unfortunately, there are not enough tests invented to effectually cover testing all of the infections associated with Lyme Disease, but private laboratories are developing and improving testing all over the world.

The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports roughly 300,000-400,000 cases of Lyme Disease a year. However, the CDC does not receive reports from the hundreds of thousands of sick people with Lyme who are not reported for a variety of reasons: unawareness of what symptoms are; medical practitioners in every field of medicine who cannot recognize Lyme Disease symptoms or know how to properly treat them and just commonly refer to  the "CDC" treatment recommendations; outdated, faulty, Lyme Disease testing, such as the Western Blot Test; and, most significantly, the unaffordability of actually treating Lyme Disease and any related Co-infections; and, FINDING a Lyme-Literate practitioner to treat you! There is some hope, now, though, through organizations that educate medical practitioners: (IN)Visible International and ILADS. These organizations offer courses to educate medical practitioners and offer resources to guide suffering individuals to Lyme-Literate practitioners.

I have traveled the world, trying to save my life, since I was diagnosed in 2018 (infected 2017).  I understand what it is like to lie in bed for hours, days, years, and wonder how such sickness and suffering could be MY life and be so intense? Lyme Disease can affect every aspect of life: financially, emotionally, and  relationally. 

Additionally, Lyme sufferers are often gas-lighted by mainstream medicine doctors and mainstream medical approaches. Many non-Lyme-Literate practitioners tell us that "it's all in your head" or "you must be depressed" or "it must be something other than Lyme Disease," etc., because they are uneducated about Lyme Disease and also because they are relying on testing methods that are proven to produce false negative results (The Western Blot Test). 

Some Lyme sufferers just want to die to end the pain and isolation.  And some feel that they do not want to burden their family or friends anymore. But sometimes we look good on the outside, so people do not understand that there is a war being waged in our bodies. Having Lyme is like being part of an exclusive club, yet growing, with free admittance!

There is much work to do to stop the spread of Lyme Disease and educate people about risks, invent new treatments, perfect existing treatment protocols, advocate for political accountability for the spread of Lyme Disease (in many ways), ensure that every State has Lyme-Literate physicians who can treat Lyme patients, advocate for better testing methods, and, significantly, advocate for indefinite health insurance treatment coverage for Lyme Disease in every State in the United States.

Through Band Aid Lyme, I want to help educate anyone who is willing to listen on the topic and give lay people access to valuable information in the Lyme Community. 

Thank you,

Valerie Viale